Ottawa History Hub

20:57

The Point of Piney

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/10/05

Hamnett Pinhey, an English businessman who came to the Ottawa Valley hoping to recreate the life of a country gentleman on a large rural estate founded his settlement at Horaceville. His political career, and his strong conservative views, give a backdrop to what life looked like for the region’s wealthy landowners. Through Pinhey’s story, the episode highlights a different vision of the Ottawa area, one rooted in rural estates rather than the growing town of Bytown.

en-ca

20:57

1837 and all that

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/09/28

Hamnett Pinhey, an English businessman who came to the Ottawa Valley hoping to recreate the life of a country gentleman on a large rural estate founded his settlement at Horaceville. His political career, and his strong conservative views, give a backdrop to what life looked like for the region’s wealthy landowners. Through Pinhey’s story, the episode highlights a different vision of the Ottawa area, one rooted in rural estates rather than the growing town of Bytown.

en-ca

22:38

1837 et tout ça

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/09/21

This episode looks at the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837 and the growing frustration with the colonial government that led to it. We meet Louis-Joseph Papineau and the Patriote movement as political disputes turned into armed resistance. Along the way, we’ll learn about the key battles of Saint-Denis, Saint-Charles, and Saint-Eustache, the roles played by both rebel and Crown forces, and the failed follow-up uprising in 1838. Although little of the action happened in Bytown itself, the rebell...

en-ca

22:41

Slavery in Canada

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/09/14

This episode explores the history of slavery in Upper Canada and the long, gradual process that led to its abolition across the British Empire. It introduces some of the Black individuals connected to the Ottawa Valley, examines the legal and social realities of slavery in Canada, and traces key anti-slavery reforms from the 1790s to 1834. The episode also reflects on how this history is remembered today through local place names, monuments, and public memory.

en-ca

26:36

Return to the Ottawa Valley

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/09/07

This episode explores the history of slavery in Upper Canada and the long, gradual process that led to its abolition across the British Empire. It introduces some of the Black individuals connected to the Ottawa Valley, examines the legal and social realities of slavery in Canada, and traces key anti-slavery reforms from the 1790s to 1834. The episode also reflects on how this history is remembered today through local place names, monuments, and public memory.

en-ca

21:47

Bytown in the time of Cholera

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/08/31

This episode explores how the global cholera pandemic of 1832-1837 spread to Bytown, exposing the town’s poor sanitation and limited medical knowledge. We look at local outbreaks, quarantine efforts, the role of Dr. A.J. Christie and the Board of Health, and the impact on Lowertown’s immigrant communities. The story highlights how contaminated water, overcrowding, and inadequate public health infrastructure fueled disease, while early sanitation measures helped reduce its spread.

en-ca

16:04

Le Chanson de Big Joe

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/06/29

In this episode of the Ottawa History Hub Podcast we explore the life and legend of Big Joe Mufferaw, born Joseph Favre dit Montferrand in 1805. A real historical figure, Montferrand became renowned in 19th‑century Montreal and the Ottawa Valley for his immense strength, boxing prowess, and role as a defender of French Canadians during the lumber era. Over time, his exploits were heavily mythologized, blending fact with folklore. The episode distinguishes between the documented man and the ex...

en-ca

17:48

Peter Aylin, The Shiner King

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/06/22

The episode examines the rise of the Shiners, an Irish-dominated criminal gang led by Peter Aylin Following the completion of the Rideau Canal in 1832, thousands of unemployed Irish labourers were left desperate for work. Aylin exploited this situation by hiring Irish lumbermen and forging a tight group called the Shiners. Aylin and his followers eventually extended their influence into civic institutions through intimidation and election rigging, culminating in attempted murder ...

en-ca

19:17

Billings and his Bridge

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/06/15

This episode explores the life and impact of Bradish Billings, one of the most influential early settlers in the Ottawa region and namesake of Billings Bridge. After an early failure as a lumberman, Billings married Lamira Dow and moved to what would become Junction Gore. Junction Gore’s economy transformed when construction began on the Rideau Canal in 1826, providing local farmers with a lucrative cash market. To better access Bytown, the community—largely thanks to Billings’ in...

en-ca

19:28

Keeping Bytown Safe

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/06/08

In early Bytown, public safety emerged long before formal civic institutions. Responsibility for order initially fell to Lt. Col. John By, overseeing canal construction. His sappers acted as de facto police and firefighters, reflecting a time when military, police, and fire duties overlapped and professional forces were rare. Bytown had only one constable in 1827, and even major cities had yet to adopt modern policing.

en-ca

19:43

Nicholas Sparks, The Prince of Bytown

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/06/01

Nicholas Sparks was an Irish immigrant who became one of Bytown’s leading citizen. Leveraging connections with the Wrights, Sparks was the richest man in Bytown throughout the life of the settlement. He married into the Wright family, feuded with John By and the Ordnance department, built political alliances with John A. MacDonald, and single-handedly created a high society for the frontier town on the Ottawa River.

en-ca

16:29

The Fur Trade Continues

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/05/25

The episode examines the fur trade’s continued role in the early 19th‑century Ottawa Valley. Though dominated by lumber, the region still relied on furs as a seasonal income source for settlers and Indigenous hunters. After the fall of New France, the Hudson Bay Company held a monopoly, challenged by the North West Company until their forced 1821 merger. Bytown’s rise during the Rideau Canal project created a new hub for independent and Indigenous traders. American traders, bringing cash and ...

en-ca

20:20

The Religious Mosaic

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/05/18

We’ve been using terms like Catholic, Presbyterian, Anglican, Protestant and Methodist so far, and in this episode we break down those terms to discuss what the different religious groups of early Bytown were and how they interacted with one another.

en-ca

19:16

Early Bytown: 1826-1836

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/05/11

This episode walks through Bytown in its first decade. Starting in Wrightstown, we cross the Union Bridge to Richmond Landing, then into Upper Bytown, the military precinct, Lowertown, New Edinburgh, and Janeville, looking at the early town as it first developed.

en-ca

22:51

Thomas MacKay

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/05/04

Thomas MacKay was a Scottish mason, industrialist, politician, and founder of New Edinburgh, among other things. He helped to build the Rideau Canal and invested his earnings in transforming Bytown from a work camp into a town. The significance of his legacy rivals that of his old boss, John By.

en-ca

19:40

The Timber Town

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/04/27

Timberrrrrrrr! Lumber was the first industry in the Ottawa area after the fur trade and agriculture. How the different trees were used and brought to port was an integral part of the development of Bytown as a town, without which the Rideau Canal labour camp would have simply dispersed on at the project's conclusion.

en-ca

17:01

The Earl of Dalhousie

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/04/20

George Ramsay, the ninth Earl of Dalhousie and former Governor General of the Canadas played an important role in the development of Ottawa, by patronising John By, feuding with John LeBreton, and making space for turning the Bytown camp into a proper settlement.

en-ca

18:01

The Rocky Road to Kingston

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/04/13

In this episode, we review a diary of a traveller from Bytown going on a trip south to Kingston, through the Rideau Valley. Along the way, he and his companions meet some of the characters who call the area home.

en-ca

19:14

The Rideau Purchase

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/04/06

The land of the Rideau River and the Ottawa once belonged exclusively to the Algonquin, though several other Anishinaabe traders would travel through the area as well. But a price was paid for the land, and it was opened for white settlement. Now, who bought and who sold the land, and for how much, represents the details in which the Devil might hide. For more details about the two treaties that governed the Rideau Purchase, click here.

en-ca

23:48

The Rideau Canal

Ottawa History Hub ·

2026/03/30

The Rideau Waterway runs more than 200 kms from Lake Ontario to the Ottawa River, bypassing the Saint Laurence River, and allowing the British to access the Great Lakes without the dangers posed by the River’s chokepoint. This UNESCO site contains 47 locks at 24 stations, and was a marvel of the age. Learn more about it here.

en-ca

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